Another elegant recital by a great pianist.

At Albany Records we believe in the talent of Joseph Fennimore, both as composer and a superb pianist. The piano recital on this disc is wonderful, but as an added bonus, this album has program notes, composed by Mr. Fennimore: "Food, Lies and Audiotape," which are very funny indeed. Here is a taste of his writing. "Most pianists' bios are depressingly similar. Pre-natal study, debut at two, the Shangri-La of conservatories, a list of competition triumphs, galactic appearances, carefully selected blurbs all calculated to imply the subject will become a household name any moment now. Just waiting for that lucky break. An American myth. Things don't work that way anymore, if they ever did. Who wants to be a household name anyway? Not me. I want to be a special thing for a special few - a few more that is." Fennimore then goes on to tell how he was unable to get along with people in the business of music. However, he was able to get along with the people at Albany Records. For us his music is special: to be enjoyed. Other Fennimore titles include TROY102 (Fennimore in Concert I), TROY023 (Selected Vocal Works), TROY065 (Chamber Music) and TROY113 (Selected Piano Music.)

Enrique Granados, composerLament, or the Maiden & the Nightingale from GoyescasJoseph Fennimore, piano

Review:

"Fennimore, a New Yorker, born in 1940, had a burgeoning era as a concert pianist in the 1970's. But he wearied of the concertizing rat race and withdrew to devote himself to composition. In more recent years, fortunately, he has committed two recitals to disc and each is a prize... the music making has the penetration and poetry of long-dead pianists like Cortot and Rachmaninoff. Fennimore's Third Sonata is mellifluously sassy, his Fourth Romance arrestingly bittersweet." (Kansas City Star)